


Last Chance Gavin

by SoftNFluff



Series: Last Chance Gavin [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Cats, Cuddling & Snuggling, Gen, M/M, Non-Sexual Age Play, Therapy, Trans Gavin Reed, stuffed animals, this is a very dumb au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-11-23 06:07:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20887361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoftNFluff/pseuds/SoftNFluff
Summary: When Gavin fucks up for the final time, he’s given an ultimatum: A two week unpaid suspension and saying bye bye to his promotion, or therapy. But Gavin doesn’t know just exactly how the strange the therapy is.





	Last Chance Gavin

Gavin had been called into Fowler’s office more than his fair share of times, but he could tell today was… different. Usually it was for small shit; Gavin picking a fight with the new kid, Gavin dicking around on his phone when he was supposed to be working, or Gavin blowing some guy in the bathroom. Fowler usually met him with a frown, or a sighed Gavin, or yelling (Mostly for the whole blowing another dude in the bathroom). This time, he looked tired. 

“Gavin Reed. How long have you worked here?”

“Uhh…” Something about the way that Fowler looked at him, his face the classic example of “I’m Not Angry I’m Just Dissappointed”, made him shrink in his seat. It reminded him of his father. “Bout six years?”

“You’ve been working on that promotion of yours, correct?” 

“Yup.” He nodded, staring contritely at his hands. 

“And yet you’re throwing it all away.”

“Excuse me?”

“Targeted harassment of another officer is unacceptable, Reed. I’ve let a lot of shit slide in your career, but you’ve gone too far this time. Look, you don’t even have to like Connor, half the people here don’t, you could at the very least fucking avoid him. You know, I hoped you’d be the last person to start this shit, considering your situation. I thought you were better than this.” 

Gavin peaked up, and instantly regretted it. Even with the small hint of anger that had crept into his voice, more irritation than anything, Fowler still looked so… tired. Disappointed. It wasn’t a secret that Fowler had stood up for him, back in the day. He had even fired a few of his harassers instead of simply letting Gavin go; many places cared too little about trans employees to do so many follow ups. But not Fowler. 

“What- What am I lookin at?” It had only been a few remarks, barked at Connor when his temper had gotten the best of him. Shit he might have regretted just a little later, but it wasn’t like a goddamn machine would care anyways. 

“Suspension. Two weeks, no pay. No promotion.”

Gavin winced. 

“But you have another option.”

“What option?” Anything was better than that. 

“I’ve looked over your file, after the last incident, and there seems to be a few… oversights on my part.” 

“Oversights?”

“On your psych evals. Look, if you go through behavior adjustment therapy, I can consider relooking at things. You’ll be on desk work for the time being, so you can’t cause any more trouble.” 

“I don’t need therapy.” It was a childish answer, but he stood by it. He had gone 36 years without the support. Still, he expected Fowler to glare, to growl, maybe even to yell at him. 

Instead, Fowler laughed. A wry laugh, but a laugh nonetheless. “Gavin Reed, you’re a fucking train wreck. Will you take the offer or not?”

“If I take it… when will it start?” 

“Tomorrow. The department will set it up, and you’ll have to prove that you actually attended each session. It isn’t conflict with your schedule.”

“Fine.” He sucked in a breath, ready to accept his fate. “I’ll take the stupid therapy.”

“Good choice. You’ll be sent your appointment time tonight, as well as the address. And Gavin, I hope you’ll find this helpful.” 

————————————————

Gavin wasn’t ready. The therapy was some sort of new age, behavioral shit. The email, as well as the time and place, told him to wear “comfortable clothes”, and while sweatpants and a t-shirt had seemed fine at the time (with his binder on of course- like hell he would talk about that part of himself with some stranger), standing outside of the little brick building made him feel silly. Regardless of what Fowler thought, he didn’t belong here. 

Still, he steeled himself and stepped inside. The reception area was small, but quaint. A small window with a smiling woman behind it sat in the center of the far wall, and two couches, the pattern at once busy and calm, sat against the two unoccupied wall, two circular end tables piled with magazines and stuffed animals crouching besides them. Altogether, it was Not something he expected from a therapist’s office. 

He walked up to the window, coughing once before addressing the woman. “I’m here for my 9:30?”

“Gavin Reed? Why don’t you take a seat, hon, and we’ll let Mr. Stern know you’re here.” 

Gavin retreated to one of the couches, grabbing a magazine at random. To his surprise, it wasn’t the usual doctor’s office fair; instead of People and Us, there were coloring books and cartoons. Gavin checked the address again on his phone. 

It was the same. His thoughts flickered to maybe Fowler thought it would be funny to send Gavin to a children’s therapist, but the arrival of Mr Stern cut the thread short. 

“Hello, Gavin. I’m ready to see you now.”

He had a nice voice, a bit deeper, but soft and soothing. Something he could fall asleep to. Gavin dropped the cartoons he had been perusing, staring up at-

A fucking Connor lookalike. Same dumb hair, if a little more disheveled, but the same face. He was perhaps a few inches taller than Connor, wearing a black turtleneck and gray slacks, and he had clear blue eyes. 

“You’re an Android.” He hardly held back his snarl. Fucking Fowler. 

“Yes. Will that be a problem?”

Gavin only stood, stuffing his hands in his pockets and stalking over. “Where do I go?”

“Follow me, Gavin.” He lead him down a long hallway, into a somewhat smaller room. It had a swivel chair and an armchair, as well as a plush blue carpet on the floor and a bright green beanbag. Another side table crowded with coloring supplies and stuffed animals and even blocks sat next to the arm chair, and a framed photo of a Siamese cat, done up like a portrait of royalty, hung above the armchair. The walls were light blue, dotted with little clouds. 

“You uhh, sure I’m in the right place?” Gavin laughed. 

“Yes. We even have your name down.” The corners of Mr Stern’s eyes crinkled. “Would you like to sit down?” 

“... Sure. Armchair, right?” He might as well play along. 

“If you really wanted the swivel chair, I would consider giving it to you.”

“No. Thank you. Looks comfier, anyways.” Gavin plopped down onto the armchair, wincing as he sank in. 

“So.” Stern seated himself, swiveling his chair so he could look at him from over the back of it. “How are you feeling today?”

“Fine.”

“Not tired? It is our earliest appointment.”

“I’ve done worse. And ‘sides… aren’t you an android? Shouldn’t that type of shit not bother you?”

“Androids can get tired, Gavin. We just need to recharge instead of sleep.” His expression didn’t change as he said it, still the same pleasantness. Gavin hated it. 

“Whatever. What, don’t you want to talk about what put me here?”

“Do you?”

“No.”

“Then I don’t feel the need to. I think that will come up in time. Now, would you like to get started with our hands-on experience? Since you’re not much of a talker.”

“Hands on?”

“We’ll try some activities. They may feel a bit silly at first, but it’s all to get you in the right mindset for behavior correction. Would you rather color or play with blocks?”

Gavin waited for a second. Then: “You’re fucking serious?”

Mr. Stern blinked. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I’m a fucking adult.”

“Adults try things they’re unsure of.”

Gavin sighed. Huffed. Considered stomping his feet. But Mr. Stern didn’t budge, and finally he chose coloring. 

The crayons felt clumsy in his fingers, too small and wobbly as he scribbled aimlessly in the picture. Maybe it was supposed to be like those stupid adult coloring books he saw. Because if he did relax just a little, he found himself getting into it. It was a picture of a cat, after all, one of those goofy cartoon bastards, and maybe it was just a bit calming to make it electric blue and yellow. 

“That’s a very nice job, Gavin; I love how you color inside of the lines so nicely.” The words were affection, if strangely fatherly, and Gavin tried to fight the way it made him tingle. 

He hadn’t started out like that, but as the picture progressed, he found he couldn’t bring himself to go out of them. “Are we done now?”

“No. Would you like a snack?” 

“Um… sure.” He had skipped breakfast. 

Mr. Stern smiled and exited the room, and Gavin couldn’t help the little warm happy feeling that told him he was doing Good. It had been too damn long since he had felt that. 

While Stern was gone, he examined the side table more closely. There were six stuffed animals that had managed to fit on the desk. A Siamese cat, a calico cat, a husky, a large purple dragon, something that looked like a golden monkey, and a red panda. Gavin reached out to examine the calico more closely. Her fur was extremely plush, probably some high end toy he couldn’t afford, and she reminded him of his own cat, Sarah. 

When Stern returned, Gavin jerked his hand back from the cat, attempting to stare at the floor. Stern said nothing, simply offering him a plate piled with chocolate chip cookies, seemingly homemade, and a tall glass of milk. 

Gavin gladly accepted, stuffing two in his mouth and stifling a groan. As he ate, Stern seemed content with simply watching him. 

Gavin let out a burp of appreciation, pushing the plate away. “What now?”

“I must apologize, but this next bit requires us to get a bit familiar with each other.”

“Like… in a sex way?” He wrinkled his nose. 

“No Gavin. You simply seem touch averse, and your superiors thought it best that we work on that.” 

“How?”

“A hug. That’s all we have to do for today, alright? We can do it standing.”

“Standing. Yeah” Gavin awkwardly stood. 

Stern smiled encouragingly at him, and Gavin winced when he experienced how much taller he really was. And yet… it was almost pleasant, when Stern slowly clasped him to his chest. His heart did race, and after a few seconds it was getting hard to breathe, but Stern smelled nice, like laundry and bubblegum candy and and something warm, so when he asked “May I pet your hair?” Gavin nodded. 

Only a few seconds passed with the warm fingers stroking gently through his hair, but it was almost enough to make Gavin intense in his arms. Still, he pulled away, muttering “Think my times up.” 

“Indeed it is. And Gavin?”

He was at the door when Stern said it, but he still looked back. 

“Even though it was only our first session, I’m proud of you for trying. I know this must not come easy to you. And… I saw you eyeing one of the stuffed animals. The calico.”

Gavin was still in the door, and before he could say anything, Stern pressed it into his hand. “I want you to have it. As a- a coping mechanism. Squeeze it whenever things get overwhelming, ok, and tell me how that works out for you.” He had a nice smile, Gavin realized. Calming. 

Gavin nodded, scurrying off. 

——————————-

“So. What did you talk about?” 

Gavin had expected therapy itself to be the most embarrassing part of his ordeal. But describing it to Fowler was infinitely worse. While he disliked the man at times, he had always seen him with respect. Besides, it wasn’t Fowler’s fault he had to discipline him when he fucked up. 

“Just stuff. Asked me how I was feeling and shit.”

“For an hour?” 

“We did activities, too.” 

“Like what?” Fowler furrowed his brows. 

“... Coloring. And hugging. And uhh, got something from him, too.” He studied the floor furiously, his face dripping crimson. 

“What kind of thing?”

“Stuffed animal. To squeeze, when I’m angry. Or upset.” It was in his hoodie pocket now, and he reached into it, fingers curling around the stuffed animal’s paw. 

“I see.” Fowler nodded, hands stepping together. He didn’t seem to be enjoying the conversation any more than Gavin was, and for that he was grateful. 

“Well, I think that’s enough to prove you got something out of it. You can go.”

He stood up then, shuffling to the door. It was humiliating, degrading, but when Fowler stood up to clap him on the back, a deadly move from anyone but him, a small part of Gavin told him that maybe it was worth it.


End file.
